by Miceál O’Hurley
CHIȘINĂU — Moldova has reaffirmed its determination to integrate further into the European Union by narrowly passing a referendum in yesterday’s voting. With more than 99% of the votes counted, the “Yes” vote nudged into the majority with 50.39% of the vote — a spread of approximately 14,000 votes more than the anti-EU movement. In Ireland, as elsewhere, the Republic of Moldova opened polling stations for expatriates to cast their votes.
The close vote was no surprise. For years, Russian interference in Moldova’s internal security has been a feature of efforts to undermine Moldova’s migration towards Europe. In the aftermath of the election, Moldova’s President, Maia Sandu, said Sunday’s referendum was marred by “unprecedented” outside interference, with “clear evidence” that “foreign forces hostile to our national interests” had aimed to buy off 300,000 votes.
Moldovan security officials accused 37-year old Israeli-born oligarch-billionaire and convicted fraudster Ilan Shor of masterminding Russian-backed interference efforts directed a perverting the election outcome in an attempt to derail Moldova’s path to EU membership. Shor was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison in June 2017 for money laundering, fraud and breach of trust in relation to the the theft of funds from banks under his influence and control. While Shor was under house arrest pending an appeal and in 2019, he fled to Israel. His sentence was doubled to 15-years servitude in abstentia and his remaining assets in Moldova were frozen.
On 3 October 2024, Shor was accused by Moldovan security services masterminding a scheme to distribute some €15 million in cash imported to Moldova from Russia by “mules” that took part in distributing the funds to some 130,000 people in order to bribe voters in the 20 October referendum and Presidential election. More funds were purportedly expended on social media buys resulting in security services and police raids on 26-locations nationwide. In the aftermath of the raids Shor claimed the funds and payments for social media advertising were “legal” and sought to justify his actions by claiming Moldova had devolved into a “police state”.
In the week leading-up to the polls opening Moldova customs officials saw a sharp spike in the number of persons entering the country from Russia carrying thousands-of-euros in cash – a significant anomaly in Europe’s poorest economy. Speaking to the BBC, the head of customs at Chisinau Airport, Ruslan Alexandrov, said, “Almost everyone had money: 2,000, 3,000, 7,000 euros”. It is not illegal to travel with currency in amounts under 10,000 euros without reporting the amounts. However, such significant numbers of people travelling from Russia which is suffering from cash-shortages due to international sanctions would be a complete aberration.
BBC News published a video on 20 October 2024 in which one of their reporters was asked by a Transnistrian woman accompanied by her friends where they could get paid for their votes. The BBC New video, below, has now gone viral.
According to Alexandrov, “There were certain flights: Moscow-Istanbul-Chisinau, Moscow-Yerevan-Chisinau,” the chief customs inspector explained. “Normally people don’t come in with that much money. Not from Moscow”. Following cursory questioning about the source of the funds Airport police began confiscating the funds, topping €1.5m in a single day. According to police sources, there have been no reports of people requesting their money to be returned.
For Thijs Reuten, a Dutch MEP who took part in the OCSE election observer mission, the challenge of countering Russia’s interference in Moldova’s internal political affairs presents certain challenges, “There has been an investigation in the weeks and months before the election that has uncovered substantial amounts of money being moved, not illegally, every day on many occasions from Russia to Moldova”.
According to a Washington Post story by Catherine Belton, Shor is a known Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) asset. Purported intelligence community intercepts between the FSB and Shor’s political operatives and ȘOR party associates, reveal Shor is known by the code-name “The Young One” by his FSB handlers. cording to intercepted communications, sent Russian political strategists to assist Shor’s political party. The ȘOR party has been banned since 2023, however, experts claim the apparatus behind the party remains functional.
Moscow continues to deny interference activities, current or historic.
The election’s close vote count is reflective of escalated interference. Polls prior to the referendum showed a wider margin of victory for Moldova’s decision to integrate into the EU. The 1% margin of victory that continues to propel Moldova away from its Soviet-Russian past and into the Eu is still a victory. As President John F. Kennedy said in his 1960 election victory which represented just a single-vote in every precinct across the country, “A mandate of a single vote is still a mandate”.
Across Europe, there is muted jubilation at the prospect of seeing Moldova fully integrate into the EU as a full member. The rejoicing is, however, tempered by fears over continued and growing efforts by Russia to shape the EU’s future. German MEP Michael Gahler, a EPP member who participated as an EU observer mission told EuroNews reporters of his take on the election, “the referendum result is only to be explained because of this massive [Russian] interference”. “We are not an investigative body, but what is in the public domain, and admitted from these structures, has to be given as a fact, I think” he continued. “And there have also been multifold statements from simple citizens who said: ‘Well, quick money for poor people? That is something that I take”.
The European Commission released their own statement concerning the Moldovan referendum vote, referring to “unprecedented interference” which they attribute to Russia.
The referendum on Moldova’s future was not the only issue on the ballot. Moldova’s incumbent President, Maia Sandu, garnered the most votes in the initial round during the October 20th initial ballot in the Presidential election. With 42% of the vote, Sandu failed to achieve a 50% majority and must face a challenger in the November 3rd run-off according to the Moldovan Electoral Commission.
An unabashed pro-EU advocate for Moldova, Sandu must face her main competitor, pro-Russian Party of Socialist candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo who captured roughly 26% of the vote in the first round polling. It is uncertain how deeply the influx of Russian money and apparent vote-buying by anti-EU activists influenced the Presidential campaign.
The office of the President under Moldovan law is largely ceremonial. Sandu, however, has used her role as President to advocate for a pro-EU platform and rail against the culture of corruption which is a hold-over from the Soviet-era.
